


And I'll Always Find My Way Home

by PicturedArtist



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-05
Updated: 2016-03-05
Packaged: 2018-05-24 22:25:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6168955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PicturedArtist/pseuds/PicturedArtist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Short snipets from lifetimes where the four brothers meet but never stay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	And I'll Always Find My Way Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [taizi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/taizi/gifts).



> This is part of a challenge between Taisi and I where we would write outside of our fandoms. She wrote a lovely piece for Miraculous Ladybug so here is my piece for TMNT. Hope you guys enjoy!

The universe starts out with an exact amount of created energy. There is no such thing as 'wasted energy'. The same idea applies to souls. A small constellation of stars could easily be the next legendary star crossed lovers that are talked about years to come. Forever to be near and never to touch. The stars would shine brightly and would beautifully benefit from another until the end of time.

 

This particular story is about an open cluster located in the milky way near the constellation Taurus. The universe knew it was their story the second the four simultaneously fell.

* * *

 

There were no names. When the sun rose til the sun sets, there was only hunting. At night, sleep was obtained in high places or dug out trenches. Safety was on the forefront of the mind right there with survival. A small freckled boy about the age of ten had years of practice. From the first moment he could remember, he knew was that he was alone. Yes, there were others who helped him get to where he was now, but a heart wrenching feeling killed him at night. There was no rhyme or reason. Just emptiness.

 

His over grown, matted hair was caked in dirt and twigs which aided his ability to disappear. The color was long gone and just resembled the local forest trash. This bothered the boy none. The boy's group would offer him pieces of animal hide to wear on the daily but he turned it down most of the time.

 

He would occasionally go out searching for a way to fill that gap that kept him awake and dreaming. He didn't know what he would find; only that he was looking. On longer trip, the boy would take a piece of boar's skin from the latest hunt. He used the smell on it to his advantage and would use the brown to hide better at night time.

 

The sun was in love with him and would guide him home time after time. If he feared he was lost, he only had to refer to the old friend. The moon rarely encouraged him to move during the night for fear the boy would injure himself, so she kept on in silent cheering for him to find what he was oh so desperately searching for.

 

Hunting came naturally for him, though he preferred to eat berries and other edible plants, so searching for a feeling seemed easy as a goal. It was on one of his trips towards the north that he felt his heart plummet. He knew that he was in the area that belonged to another group but nature pointed him north—so he went.

 

Lain between the rocks and tree rubble were bones picked clean of any sign of life. The bones had far from deteriorated so anyone could tell it was a young child that fell victim to the wildlife that threatened them. The boy's eyes welled up and over flowed instantly. He was new to this sensation but never the less it felt as if it was the only response he could give. Hiccups burst from his throat past the salty bitterness that wouldn't stop for anything in the world.

 

A twig snapped.

 

Bright green eyes blinked at him. They locked eyes with each other a moment for every year the boy had been alive. The owner of the bright green eyes also owned a full head of hair the shade of animal's blood. Unlike the blue eyed boy, this newcomer had a piece of sun dried leather tied loosely around his waist. It was ripped in multiple places. They appeared to be human rips—maybe Green fought a lot.

 

Green walked around the rock on his palms and pads to greet Blue, but Blue only followed him—which led them into a full circle. He seemed a little frustrated at first but soon gave in to the short lived game of follow the leader.

 

Their game came to an end when Green stopped right in front of the improper grave site. Blue could remember seeing Green with tears in his eyes like himself when they first arrived. They both had no idea as to why, but they sat in silence in front of the bones. It only took a split second in their world to have everything come to an end. A truth they were reminded every day about.

 

Blue didn't hear the hungry saber tooth come up behind him.

 

* * *

 

The waves of the storm thrashed the boat back and forth and,f rom where I was sitting, was very unpleasant. The storm was nothing to be feared if you took into account that I was in the hull and this was a natural occurrence that happened daily if not hourly. The smell of human fecal matter and decomposition surrounding us was enough to kill the senses.

 

My charge shifted in my arms. His blonde hair curled around my arm and made every bad moment disappear. His brilliant blue eyes, when open, could bring a smile to anyone's face. He had stumbled right on after me wearing a hood to slink by the crew. He wasn't supposed to be down here. I didn't even know his name. None of that mattered. Him being with me felt right somehow.

 

But he was sick. Everything else was bearable until he ran a fever. Most of the time he rested against my thin bare frame. When we last had a piece of food I could not recall. He raised up and fell down with each ragged breath I was able to form.

 

A guard glanced over time and time again with curious eyes. It was a quarter til midnight, meaning he was the only one on guard for this area. He mumbled an incoherent pep talk before he made his way over. He was very kind unlike the other guards. He never once kicked one of us nor did he talk down to any of us. 'Ralph' was written in block lettering across his chest. Our languages were similar but a lot was lost when he tried talking to me.

 

“Be quiet or they will hear you.” Ralph whispered in his native tongue as a small roll landed on my lap. Eagerly, I awoke the blonde. The blonde opened his eyes and greeted him with that beloved smile of his. His hood fell and revealed his milky skin to guard which seemed to throw him off.

 

“Thank you big brother.” The boy said sleepily. I began to wonder at that moment what kind of family he left behind the day he followed me on the boat. He must have forgotten where he was or what his actual big brother looked like. He split the roll on our lap into three and offered a third to the guard. “This was your dinner after all.”

 

My turn came when he turned to offer the other third to me. “Jy moet dit meer as wat ek doen.” My words were lost on him when I shoved the share of bread back towards him. His blue eyes shone with determination as he shoved the piece in my mouth while I spoke. The bread was nothing special but it felt like gold when it melted on my tongue and met with my grieving stomach.

 

Ralph's eyes were still lost on the boy's creamy skin. He shoved his share of his roll in his mouth as he pivoted away. A new guard took his position as he climbed the steps to the deck. I was struck with fear the instant he saw the boy. No one knew how the boy got in here with the rest of my people but our skins definitely set us apart. Most likely, they'll assume I kidnapped him.

 

“Wat is jou naam?” I tried again. I've asked a million times before when he first got on. Language barriers are not everything but it hinders the process of escape.

 

“Naam? Name?” It finally clicks. “Michael.”

 

“Damel.” The name filled the boy with delight although it wasn't long lived. Sounds of life came from the corridor that the guard, Ralph, had disappeared into. He had reappeared but he wasn't alone. With him was a very strong willed looking man who stood tall with every step. The second he laid eyes on Michael, I knew it was over.

 

The newcomer dropped in front of Michael. The four here together was comforting. Four strangers on their way to the new world. There was no reason that any of us should feel this comforted but in dark times I these, it helped to see the brighter side of things.

 

I glanced down at the boy who held power over any and all who look his way. My arms grew heavy. My eyes dart up to the crewmen in front of me but neither were looking back. Both sets of eyes were on Michael. Still. Lifeless. Michael.

 

Sickness took a lot of us on the trip to the new world. A world we weren't going to see. The ship never landed.

 

 

 


End file.
